Group Hopes Concert Will Net $35,000 For L.v. Homeless

April 22, 1986|The Morning Call

Social service agencies might be dancing to a $35,000 tune if a May 25 benefit rock concert in Agricultural Hall, Allentown, works out as planned, members of the Lehigh Valley Confederation On The Homeless were told yesterday.

Alan Jennings, deputy director of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, said proceeds will amount to $35,000 if "The Dance For Our Town" is a sellout. For every 1,000 tickets sold, $8,000 in proceeds would be raised, he said.

Jennings, who is coordinating the concert, said half of the proceeds would go to the member agencies of the Lehigh Valley Food Bank. The other half would be used to help the Lehigh Valley homeless "in a fashion that has yet to be determined," Jennings said.

Tickets for the show, which will reunite Jay and the Techniques, the Shillings, and the Cyrkle, three local rock bands from the 1960s, have been on sale since April 14 at various area outlets. It is not known how many have been sold so far.

The concert will coincide with "Hands Across America," a human chain that is expected to link up coast-to-coast. The chain is intended to raise funds for the homeless and hungry throughout the nation.

Jennings said local interest is high in participating in the benefit chain. Enough people already have registered to fill two buses, and enough registration forms have been distributed to fill 15 buses, Jennings said.

The chain is expected to come within 60 to 70 miles of the Lehigh Valley.

Also yesterday, the group was told of progress being made by a confederation task force seeking affordable housing for homeless people in the Lehigh Valley. The group is looking in the area for existing housing that might be refurbished for such a use.

Dan Beers, deputy executive director of the Lehigh County Housing Authority, and a task force member, said a location in Bethlehem has been found. The location was not identified.

As part of the project, the confederation hopes to hold a design contest among local architects and to approach local banks for financing.

Jennings expressed hope that the program, which would not use federal funding, would be done annually and serve as a model nationwide.